new words

one of my favorite things about bb's language development is that he makes new words. it started because he couldn't say the real word or couldn't remember what it was. i'm sure all kids do this. he's had made-up words for everything from the vacuum to the garbage truck. the funny thing is seeing what sticks.

every morning hubby and i start the day with a protein drink. with it we take our vitamins. eventually bb became interested in drinking some, too. and eventually he wanted to make it with us. he loves to press the blender buttons. one day not long after he had discovered that he liked the taste he kept asking us for "noo-noo." we just looked at each othere like, "what is he getting at." we eventually realized he wanted the drink--which we just called protein. how he got noo-noo from protein we'll never know. but for a good 6 months now, that's what we call it. and probably will forever more. even when bb's not in the room we'll ask each other if there's any noo-noo to be had.

the next time it happened was with yet another blender drink. the ever-popular smoothie. who doesn't love a good smoothie in the summer? it's one of bb's favorite things and i could actually get him to eat his dinner by bribing him with a smoothie.
which was great because it's not like a smoothie bad for him. not like offering a cookie as bait. well, the poor little, speech-challenged bug couldn't say smoothie. so, he invented "poo-vin." one of his most often uttered phrases over the summer was, "mommy! poo-vin time!!"

the third instance is by far the funniest. . . at least to us. hubby caught a cold last week and has been blowing his nose every other second. bb hasn't seen this action since last winter, so i think it surprised him. he didn't get it. he said to hubby, "what's daddy doin'?" "what you doin', daddy?" daddy didn't answer because he was dealing with his boogery situation. bb said, "daddy. . . daddy's. . .daddy's SNOZIN'!!!" (pronounced snow-zin).

needless to say hubby cracked up and couldn't wait to tell me about snozin'.
now it's also become an adjective. "daddy feels snozy."

the sad part is bb woke up this morning with the snozies, too.
*sigh*
pass the Puffs Plus, please.

everybody loves tofu--right?

WELCOME TO THE MONDAY MUNCH!
(i couldn't post the logo because (shocker) blogger won't let me. o, fickle, fickle blogger.)

anyway. . .

i know what you're thinking. tofu. spongey, wet, tastes like nuthin'. this can be true!

but not always.

consider tofu "fish" sticks. they are crispy (on the outside), sorta salty and fun to eat! (and who doesn't love a good dippin' sauce?)

every once in a while when i can't think of what to feed bb i remember tofu sticks.
he loves them. who says kids can't enjoy tofu?? just try them--you'll see!

TOFU STICKS

Ingredients
1 Pound Extra Firm Tofu
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
3 tbs. sesame seeds
1 tbs. nutritional yeast (optional)
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 egg, beaten or 3 tbs. olive oil

Ingredients
1. Place tofu in a shallow pan. Press water out by placing a weighted cutting board on top of it for 15-30 mins. Drain water.

2. In a shallow bowl or plate, combine crumbs, seeds, yeast and paprika.

3. Turn tofu block on its side, and cut tofu in half lengthwise. Turn tofu back to widest side, and cut into 1/2-ince slices across the shorter end. You should have 12 pieces.

4. Preheat oven to 375. Oil baking sheet. Pour egg or oil into a shallow bowl or plate. Coat tofu in egg on all sides. Next, roll into crumb mixture until coated.

5. Place tofu sticks on baking sheet. Bake 20- 25 minutes, turning once or until brown and crisp. Serve with tartar sauce for dipping.

sometimes instead of baking, i throw them in a pan with some oil and fry them up. not as healthy, but suuuuuuure is tasty!

your handy recipe card is here.
enjoy!

flying solo

so, i am now a peeping mom of one. all the other moms i asked to blog with me here have bailed on me. some without even a single peep!

i'm sad that it didn't work out. i had such a vision for what peeping moms would be. i guess i asked the wrong folks--they just aren't inclined to blog. and those who are already have their own blogs.

but that's okay, it's been mostly me anyway. i guess i just don't feel interesting enough to maintain it myself. but i will try! hear me peep!

wordless wednesday.

after a brief hiatus . . .

well, the Munch is back this week--FINALLY. it all fell apart when we went on vacation last month. but, i have a great recipe today (technically it's still sunday, but this is when i have time!) we made these muffins today and bb could not. get. enough. even before bed he was still asking for "more muffin." silly kid!

so, here goes:

Whole Wheat Banana Blueberry Muffins!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. ww flour
1 1/2 c. rolled oats
2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground mace or nutmeg
1 c. oil
1 c. honey (i find that the bananas sweeten enough, so i usually do a 1/2 cup of honey instead)
6 ripe mashed bananas
1 tbs. vanilla extract
2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

Instructions:

1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.

2. In a separate bowl blend together the honey, oil, bananas and vanilla.

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixing only until the ingredients are combined. A good muffin batter should be lumpy. Cover and refrigerate overnight or proceed to bake now.

4. To bake, set your oven to 350 degrees. While it preheats, bring your batter to room emperature and grease and flour the tins or if you prefer, use liners.

5. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter. Fill each muffin tin to at least 3/4 full. These muffins to not rise much.

6. Bake 25-35 minutes. Test with knife. point should come out clean when the muffins are ready.

they're great because they are made with whole wheat and oats, sweetened with bananas and honey and even with half the honey they still taste sweet and yummy!

oh! and credit where it's due: this recipe comes from the Black Dog Summer on The Vineyard Cookbook. i used to live on Martha's Vineyard and whenever i get nostalgic i break out this cookbook and try to relive the "old days."

enjoy!
(click here for handy pdf recipe card!)

they liked me, they really liked me!

after 3 days of no internet service (boooo!) i'm back online again! whew. i was starting get all twitchy and sweaty after 3 days of no blogging, no emailing, no surfing. but it's okay now. the color is coming back to my face.

so, i had a great time this past weekend at the festival. i totally won a prize! i was awarded a red ribbon in the "mixed media" category. second place is pretty cool! i was surprised to say the least. i also sold more than i ever have at a festival, so i guess the new designs went over well.

THANK YOU so much for all the encouraging words. i really, really appeciated that.

and here's a couple of photos one of the festival and one of yesterday's apple picking adventure.

wish me luck!

well, i'm headed to the Mattoon Street Arts Festival this weekend. i got my new designs all done and printed and i'm off to go a'sellin'! if you are in the vicinity--stop by! but in case you aren't here is a sneek peek at the 3 new designs i've got.in case you have no idea what all this is. . . the short story is this:

i was so inspired by my son's existence and by him himself that i started a business making illustrations and putting them on onesies and tees. i sell them at festivals and on my website. the full story and the other designs can be found there as well as my itinerary for fall festivals.

AND if you want to order one email me from the website and i'll give you the "blog friend" discount!

it's fun and also scary selling things you have made. after giving birth i kind of got a superwoman complex. i felt like, "well, hell, if i can do THAT, i can do anything!" so, i started working on making Bubble & Squeak a reality. now, it's a year since my first festival and the website launch and though i am still having a great deal of fun, the superwoman complex is worn off a bit. a lot. so, i'm feeling like it's a bit scary to put myself out there. but i do believe that what is hard is also what makes the most growth, so, i look at bb's face and i head forth out into the public!

wish me luck.

trucks trucks trucks

every morning bb gets up and plays with his trucks. he's all about the vehicles. here's some pics of today. but even better is the narration.

this is what he was saying. verbatim. (yes, i am a freak, i went and got a pen.)

(after he lined them all up)
"have a party. . . just like ME!" (he still remembers fondly his birthday party)

(pointing the pick-up truck toward the jeep)
"hey-o, jeep, how you doin'"
"good."
"that's good."

(picking up jeep)
"turn his wheels. go fast!"
"see that mommy? jeep goes quick-quick!"

he's in a big watch this, watch me phase. every morning it's "mommy, look at THIS!" his language is getting so developed. he's started using "this" and "that", "in" and "at" a lot and filling out sentences with all the connectors. it's all new. i love it. and he loves. . . trucks.